Laat Sunday, I had lunch with some friends and one of them asked me about what I was doing. I said a few words about my current political philosophy class when she blurted out: “I am not at all interested in politics.”
Her remark wasn’t confrontational nor was her follow-up question: “Why does politics matter?”
I said: “Because politics is ultimately about life and death even when it deals only with seemingly small matters.”
“That’s a good answer,” she agreed. “But, you know, I was close to death some while ago. The doctors had practically given me up. Since then, I care only about the here and now – like us sitting around this table, eating and drinking together and enjoying each other’s company. ”
Was she wrong?
Not at all, I think. Politics is an existential matter but there are times and contexts when our concern with it has to give way to something more immediate. Not everybody will be drawn to politics and for all of us there are moments when politics fades into the distance. This is a dilemma for democracy. Should we expect everyone to be politically engaged? There are democratic states where every citizen is required to cast a vote in elections – with limited exceptions. Does this require too much? We may want to have engaged citizens, but should we demand this by law? And if not, what are our expectations abut political participation of the citizenry? We may deplore a low voter turnout in an election? But what would be an acceptable figure?